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Talk:Smells Like Teen Spirit/@comment-3575890-20140908194032
What I love most about Gus and Hazel is that it was not a rushed pairing by any means. There was a spark right from the start, but it certainly wasn't this grandiose, contrived love at first sight scenario either. Just a guy thinking a girl is cute and not watching where he's going as he admires her, which results in him walking smack dab into a door frame. This happens in reality all the time and it's meaningless. A superficial attraction towards a person of the opposite gender is nothing out of the ordinary nor anything noteworthy of an epic romance. It's what transpires afterwards that matters, and Hazel and Augustus are no exception. But I would like to take a moment to point out the beauty in Augustus being drawn to Hazel upon first eye contact, even if only on a superficial plane because be as it may that Hazel is a beautiful girl, she is not a conventional beauty that most guys would look twice at in passing. Hazel encompasses a unique beauty that is often overlooked by the opposite sex, but Gus found her to be beautiful for all the reasons that many other guys probably would dismiss her. From the start, he appreciated her for all that she was. That said, in that point in time, she was just a pretty face that he yearned to get to know for shallow reasons and one he mistakenly thought he could successfully woo with just his good looks and silver tongue, but she wasn't having any of his creepy eyeing of her or his pretentious soliloquy that he no doubt was hoping would impress her and challenged him right on the spot in front of everyone in group; that was when she became more than a pretty face to be admired. That was when she became not only a viable love interest, but an equal to him and that was when he knew he met his match. If he had any doubts before, they were shattered the moment she took apart his speech with equal vehemence and eloquence. He had to know her. And once she was considering him, I love how quickly she called him out on the cigarette and all it represented immediately declaring it a dealbreaker because no matter how cute or charming he was, no way no how would she waste her time with a guy that would show her such seemingly utter disrespect by taking out the equivalence to a lethal weapon for her in front of her. So unlike many other YA heroines, Hazel doesn't just roll with the punches to appease a hot guy. She firmly points out to him that there is shit she will not put up with from him before a relationship has even officially begun, asserting her independence and agency from the gate, and in the process earning his respect. Take notes, Bella Swan. This is how it's done. Anyways, from thereon, they became the best of friends texting and calling each other at all hours of the day and night, confiding in one and other their innermost thoughts and feelings, bonding over both their shared interests and introducing new interests to each other, basically shaping each other into better versions of themselves. Hazel helps Augustus see that it's better to be loved personally than admired universally and Augustus brightens Hazel's outlook on life, helping her to become less cynical and embittered by life's harsh realities. In spite of that they struck up an emotional connection straight away, their friendship was the focal point of their relationship building and the aspect of their relationship that got the most development, which is why their romance worked so well. They did not become romantically involved until they both were already head over heels in love with each other making them lovers second, but best friends first and foremost, and there is no stronger foundation for a romance. True love is friendship set on fire. Augustus and Hazel epitomize that adage. Unfortunately, the stars were crossed for the two of them, and they were not allowed much time together, but in the time they did share together, they had what few people get to experience in a lifetime - true love with somebody so seemingly perfect for you it was as though they were crafted specifically for you and you for them; the truest of kinships built on mutual respect and experience, common interests and values, trust and understanding, a fully flourished friendship, and at the root of it all: passionate, unadulterated, love without condition or judgment. Short-lived as they were, they had their small infinity. Needless to say, Hazel and Augustus will now go down as one of my all-time favorite OTPs. Thanks, John Green. As if I didn't have enough to cry over already.